American Century Companies Inc. Has $74.07 Million Stock Position in Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS)

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS) by 37.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,060,096 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 290,678 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 3.26% of Axcelis Technologies worth $74,069,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,638,000. Boston Partners lifted its position in Axcelis Technologies by 34.4% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 330,073 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $23,095,000 after purchasing an additional 84,481 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Axcelis Technologies by 121.5% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 24,577 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,717,000 after buying an additional 13,483 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Axcelis Technologies by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 28,623 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,054,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 90.6% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 364 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. 89.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Axcelis Technologies Trading Down 2.4 %

ACLS stock opened at $56.15 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 5.41 and a quick ratio of 4.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.13, a P/E/G ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.62. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $62.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.10. Axcelis Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.67 and a fifty-two week high of $158.61.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The semiconductor company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.29. Axcelis Technologies had a net margin of 19.75% and a return on equity of 21.02%. Analysts expect that Axcelis Technologies, Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Axcelis Technologies declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 12th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ACLS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Craig Hallum decreased their target price on shares of Axcelis Technologies from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, William Blair downgraded Axcelis Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Axcelis Technologies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $154.00.

Axcelis Technologies Profile

Axcelis Technologies, Inc designs, manufactures, and services ion implantation and other processing equipment used in the fabrication of semiconductor chips in the United States, Europe, and Asia Pacific. The company offers high energy, high current, and medium current implanters for various application requirements.